In December last year I was on holiday at the Gold Coast where I visited my friend Janelle Joy (Purejoy Personal Training, KO Fitness Miami) who has become a PT. Seeing her amazing figure made me feel extremely overweight. She told me about the 12-week challenge and she said I could do it with her and her clients, so that’s what I did.

I joined the local gym, found a friend to work out with and started eating well. I am fortunate the gym has a crèche as at the time I started I had four kids under five. It would have been a real challenge to find time to workout otherwise. The gym also has a pool so I could enjoy the luxury of swimming with the kids after a hard workout.

My youngest child was six weeks old when I began the challenge. I was 73.6kg, which was about the weight I was at full term with her; I had put on a substantial amount of weight. Before having children in 2005, I weighed 62kg and hoped someday to be back at that weight or lower.

The first few weeks of the challenge I was able to make it to the gym five days a week. I was off to a fantastic start, losing 2kg the first week and 1kg each week thereafter.

Four weeks into the challenge we took a one week holiday to Port Macquarie. I remained stable this week, which was lucky as I did little exercise and become pretty relaxed with my diet.

Returning home I got right back into the challenge and managed to stay on track for the rest of the 12 weeks. I was hoping to lose 12kg in the 12 weeks but am still very happy with a 10kg loss.

The food was the hardest for me as I have always been a comfort eater. When I would find myself bored and thinking about food, I would read the children a story. This was my escape from the thoughts of eating food. I read a lot of stories to the kids over the 12 weeks.

I have adapted well to my new healthy eating plan, which my friend made up for me at the beginning of the challenge. I think replacing one meal with a salad was helpful to my weight loss. Also, not eating after 6pm is important for me. A couple of times I binged during the night, and that’s why it is important for me to stick to the ‘no food after 6pm’ rule.

I fell in love with the elliptical/strider machine at the gym because I could feel the weight falling off me. The real changes in body occurred when I started running on the treadmill. I had not run since I was a kid. The squats, lunges, push-ups and sit-ups really contributed to my fitness program as well.

My weight loss has brought me happiness and confidence that I have not had for some time. Last week I felt great trying on jeans in the changeroom at Target. I even came out with a size 10, which are still a little tight but I know when winter arrives in a few weeks time they will be perfect.

I’ve also enrolled in a Master of Teaching (Primary) program at university and am studying by correspondence. I listen to my lectures at the gym on my iPod. I am proud of my life right now and know that it is because I feel much healthier and fitter thanks to the 12-week challenge.c